hey jphish, if you don't mind me getting personal, what's your height and inseam.... i've looked at the palmer and madstad but haven't pulled the trigger yet... madstad didn't appeal because the overlap between the screen and base was so huge i thought it looked funky.... i'm very sensitive to wind noise and buffeting so getting good wind protection would be a huge plus for me...

This is a pretty entertaining thread. I started reading it because my wife has a 2005 Wee that she hardly ever rides. She had an unfortunate get off and really hasn't wanted to ride much since. I have a 2003 V (the yellow faster kind), and I love it. I also have a 2007 KLR 650 which I love.

I have been thinking of farkling up my wife's wee for touring. I tour mostly alone and the only complaint I have on my Strom is the fuel economy. I generally get about 40 to 45 (US) when I am fully loaded and riding fast. I know that power is nice, but I love the thought of being able to tour farther on less fuel. For the Wee riders here, is the Wee competent under full load when touring? I think I probably have close to sixty pounds of gear plus my bulk (200+ pounds, although I hate to admit it). Will the Wee be able to haul my gear and my corpulent arse around?

hey jphish, if you don't mind me getting personal, what's your height and inseam.... i've looked at the palmer and madstad but haven't pulled the trigger yet... madstad didn't appeal because the overlap between the screen and base was so huge i thought it looked funky.... i'm very sensitive to wind noise and buffeting so getting good wind protection would be a huge plus for me...

other than that, loving my '06 girlie...

Have a Madstad on my 03 Girlie and love it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hansi65/6933114561/
I actually do think it has improved the looks of her. Big initial investment and had to alter/customize the baseplate to get the screen lower so I can look over the windshield while riding with all of my 5'10", but what a difference. Very little turbulence and noise now compared to the head-shaking and headaches from the 13"MRA that I was running before. Keeps a huge amount of wind and rain off your torso too.

Hansi, Thanks for the pic. I had a Madstad on both of my stroms. Worked very well. Strom or Tiger, they all seem to need one of these arrangements to manage the airflow better. I also got some pics from jphish of the Palmer on his Tiger. The two systems are very similar, except the Madstad uses the base plate. Just for shits and giggles, and because I'm cheap and have some windshields lying around, I've made a couple of base plates, then some spacers out of ... I think it was delrin.... to accomplish the same result. Still a work in progress... fingers crossed...

Hansi, Thanks for the pic. I had a Madstad on both of my stroms. Worked very well. Strom or Tiger, they all seem to need one of these arrangements to manage the airflow better. I also got some pics from jphish of the Palmer on his Tiger. The two systems are very similar, except the Madstad uses the base plate. Just for shits and giggles, and because I'm cheap and have some windshields lying around, I've made a couple of base plates, then some spacers out of ... I think it was delrin.... to accomplish the same result. Still a work in progress... fingers crossed...

hey jphish, if you don't mind me getting personal, what's your height and inseam.... i've looked at the palmer and madstad but haven't pulled the trigger yet... madstad didn't appeal because the overlap between the screen and base was so huge i thought it looked funky.... i'm very sensitive to wind noise and buffeting so getting good wind protection would be a huge plus for me...

other than that, loving my '06 girlie...

I have had great results with the MRA Vario screen (the adjustable "wing" looks a bit odd but grows on you) about a 50% improvement over stock.
Somethings to consider also
#1. What type helmet do you have? I switched from a Sparx helmet to an AGV and the better aerodynamics of the helmet helped more than the screen.
now about a 70% improvement over stock.
then........
#2. Adjust the mirrors!!! On my '05 the left mirror bracket is taller than the right one....meaning the right mirror sits almost 1 3/4" lower than the left. By simply loosening the stalk and moving it up, and loosening the mirror itself and moving out a bit I closed the gap to about 1/4" and the improvement in buffeting was HUGE compared to the new screen AND the helmet. And best of all that little trick didn't cost a dime!
Brought overall wind protection up to about 98% better than stock.
I now ride an '05 Tiger with virtually no buffeting, no neck fatigue and a HUGE smile on my face mile after mile.

__________________
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i don't doubt about the mirrors etc... on the Weestrom, several things virtually eliminated buffeting other than on stormy days with lots of shifting crosswinds [which nothing will fix]:
I dumped the oddball stock mirrors for bikemaster round 6" stems. smooth through the wind
added madstad & Givi shield
removed the splash dam under the ugly nosecone. not only does that change dramatically the airflow around the nose, but it gets rid of the "lifting" or "floating" effect lots of 'strommers complain about. I run my fork all the way up ... nose in the air at the top of the tube with no issues.

i run almost year round with the shield in the lowest position, tilted back almost full allowance. I'm 6'2"

that all said, the right windshield for the Wee has not been made to my knowledge. it needs something that has a bottom width close to the same width as those fairing 'wings' on the outside because those odd body features produce some turbulence - plus it would look so much better to have something actually matchup to the shape of that ugly frontend

Quote:

Originally Posted by keystiger

I have had great results with the MRA Vario screen (the adjustable "wing" looks a bit odd but grows on you) about a 50% improvement over stock.
Somethings to consider also
#1. What type helmet do you have? I switched from a Sparx helmet to an AGV and the better aerodynamics of the helmet helped more than the screen.
now about a 70% improvement over stock.
then........
#2. Adjust the mirrors!!! On my '05 the left mirror bracket is taller than the right one....meaning the right mirror sits almost 1 3/4" lower than the left. By simply loosening the stalk and moving it up, and loosening the mirror itself and moving out a bit I closed the gap to about 1/4" and the improvement in buffeting was HUGE compared to the new screen AND the helmet. And best of all that little trick didn't cost a dime!
Brought overall wind protection up to about 98% better than stock.
I now ride an '05 Tiger with virtually no buffeting, no neck fatigue and a HUGE smile on my face mile after mile.

I use a Scorpion... I think its an EX900.. something like that... the modular one. Big helmet, but fiarly quiet and aero.

I installed the Aprilia Tuono mirrors on my Tiger a while back. Pretty aero and look good too. Again, these are items I had on my previous Strom. Like em.

I'll get some pics up later this week. Bike is in the shop with the shock removed and on a plane to Hagon in the UK for rebuild.

Quote:

Originally Posted by keystiger

I have had great results with the MRA Vario screen (the adjustable "wing" looks a bit odd but grows on you) about a 50% improvement over stock.
Somethings to consider also
#1. What type helmet do you have? I switched from a Sparx helmet to an AGV and the better aerodynamics of the helmet helped more than the screen.
now about a 70% improvement over stock.
then........
#2. Adjust the mirrors!!! On my '05 the left mirror bracket is taller than the right one....meaning the right mirror sits almost 1 3/4" lower than the left. By simply loosening the stalk and moving it up, and loosening the mirror itself and moving out a bit I closed the gap to about 1/4" and the improvement in buffeting was HUGE compared to the new screen AND the helmet. And best of all that little trick didn't cost a dime!
Brought overall wind protection up to about 98% better than stock.
I now ride an '05 Tiger with virtually no buffeting, no neck fatigue and a HUGE smile on my face mile after mile.

This is a pretty entertaining thread. I started reading it because my wife has a 2005 Wee that she hardly ever rides. She had an unfortunate get off and really hasn't wanted to ride much since. I have a 2003 V (the yellow faster kind), and I love it. I also have a 2007 KLR 650 which I love.

I have been thinking of farkling up my wife's wee for touring. I tour mostly alone and the only complaint I have on my Strom is the fuel economy. I generally get about 40 to 45 (US) when I am fully loaded and riding fast. I know that power is nice, but I love the thought of being able to tour farther on less fuel. For the Wee riders here, is the Wee competent under full load when touring? I think I probably have close to sixty pounds of gear plus my bulk (200+ pounds, although I hate to admit it). Will the Wee be able to haul my gear and my corpulent arse around?

Depends on speed. At about 80mph the 1000 and 650 economy is about the same. Weight doesn't have much effect on economy, but top boxes and side cases will.

Power isn't a problem unless you expect to be able to pass quickly from an 80mph start. Up to 70-80mph performance is pretty comparable between the two bikes. The wee will be using more rpm and changing gear more though.